


Into You

by ferix79



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Dance, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Clubbing, First Dates, GoGo Dancer!Noctis, Hip Hop, HipHop dancer!Iris, M/M, Pole Dancing, Pole dancer!Ignis, Rating will go up, Silly Stage Names, Slight college AU but not the focus, Slow Build, Slow Burn, everyone is bi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-05 06:07:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10299293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ferix79/pseuds/ferix79
Summary: Roommates Ignis, Gladio and Prompto fall in lust with a gorgeous male dancer in a night club, but put him out of their minds once the night ends. No reason to dwell on someone they'll never really meet, right?That is until the same boy shows up in Iris' dance classes. The boys will have to move past their bias and prejudice to get to know the kind, talented boy hiding underneath the tough, glittery exterior.





	1. Somethin' Bout You

**Author's Note:**

> Here we gooo!
> 
> Just wanted to preface this with a little blurb about ethnicity and the performing arts. Something wonderful about the performing arts, specifically dance, and especially modern styles like hiphop and pole dance, is that they bring together people of all backgrounds, ethnicities, races, etc, and I think that’s something very important that shouldn’t be brushed aside. Now, I haven’t heard of many people upset about race in FFXV, but truth be told SE could have done a little better than making all the main characters white or otherwise very light skinned. The only characters of note that were POC were Weskham and Sania, who both had very minor roles, so that’s pretty disappointing. 
> 
> My point is, this fic is about hip hop and pole dance, and dance is something performed by people of all backgrounds and races, so if you want to see one, some, or all of the characters as POC, then I say go for it. If you want to see them all as their canon ethnicities, then that’s fine, too. Im going to try my best not to bring up skin color to allow readers to head canon whatever they want. Right now I’m not even sure how I see all the characters, so if the race or ethnicity of a specific character comes up, I’ll let you know. 
> 
> [Into You Character Sheet](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/post/159117538779/into-you-ffxv-dance-au-character-sheet) (has some minor spoilers)

Being on the pole was like coming home to Ignis, because home itself certainly wasn’t home. Practicing spins and inversions was freedom and going to class with bruises decorating his legs was proof that he fought for it—something so precious was not given easily.

He learned that lesson at a young age; his parents provided him little in the way of freedom as a child. Study hard, learn everything you can and go work for the government like your uncle. Then you’ll live a good life, they told him. But how could he live a good life when nothing about it made him happy? It was a question they never answered, brushed it off as a child’s rambling and told him to go read something

Learning pole gave him more than freedom; It gave him courage, determination and strength. Courage to make friends and stand up for what he believed in; determination to understand what he wanted and work for it; and strength to accept and love himself. All his parents had given him was a plane ticket from Tenebrae to Insomnia; he’d carved out his own path since then.

Being on the pole was like existing out of spite. It meant no responsibilities, no problems aside from making sure his grip and leg placement was correct. It meant letting his mind wander freely, unconcerned about anyone other than himself. Being on the pole meant being someone his _parents_ never thought he could be. And ever since he first proved them wrong, doing bad cartwheels and somersaults in the backyard when he was seven, he dedicated his life to being a never ending chain of surprises. A never ending chain of _“I can do this”_ rather than _“I was told not to”._

Pole dancing gave Ignis peace in a way nothing else in his life did. When he had three finals next week and a term paper on the Accordan government due tomorrow, when his manager at the restaurant had him working six nights a week, when Prompto or Gladio or Iris was suffering from some minor life crisis or other, he would always have one sure and steadfast ally: the silver forest of poles at the nearby dance studio.

 

* * *

 

“Guys,” Prompto whined to the two in the front seat, “I could totally be going over the study guide right now. Did you _have_ to drag me out here?”

“For the fourteenth time today? Your test isn’t for another week, Prompto,” Ignis quipped from the driver’s seat, his eyes falling upon the neon sign of their destination. From the passenger’s seat, Gladio turned around to face the blonde.

“This isn’t even your midterm yet. I promise ya’, Prom, the only tests that matter in undergrad are midterms and finals. Don’t sweat it.” He turned to face forward in the seat again, focusing on counting out the stack of dollar bills in his grasp. Ignis caught his eye from across the center console and they shared a knowing smile.

Prompto threw his hands up in the air, “But my grade on this test will help me gauge how much I should be freaking out for the midterm! And I’d like to do as little freaking out as possible, thanks!”

“Well it’s no matter now, because we’re here,” Ignis announced, maneuvering the car up a small incline and into a packed parking lot. Prompto glanced up and out the window as they rolled by the large neon sign, its purplish-blue letters proudly proclaiming the establishment _The Citadel._

Ignis parked the car with remarkable precision despite the close quarters. Prompto cracked his door open just enough to slip out of the car, careful not to dent or mark the car next to them. If he had damaged the other vehicle, he could only imagine the owner returning, drunk and belligerent, and retaliating against Ignis’ car. Parking lot fights happened a lot outside of clubs, didn’t they? Prompto wasn’t sure, but it sounded like something that _could_ happen. He wouldn’t really know, as he’d never been to a club until, well, right now.

A hearty smack on the back from Gladio thrust him out of his thoughts. “It’s just one night, Prompto. Relax, have fun, get some drinks, find someone to dance with. That’s what we’re here to do. I know you won’t believe it, but Iggy and I come here all the time just to blow off steam.” A wad of what Prompto estimated to be about ten singles was shoved into his hands without preamble, and Gladio would not accept it back, “And tip the dancers. If you do nothing else, just get close to the stage and watch them. You’re in for a good time, no matter what you like.”

“A good time?” Prompto parroted back, glancing over to Ignis. He knew the club they were going to had performers, but he wasn’t interested in _that_ kind of good time.

“They’re go-go dancers, Gladio, not strippers. There’s a difference,” Ignis reassured with a roll of his eyes, pulling out his ID and prompting the blonde to do the same. Prompto tucked the dollar bills into his wallet before fishing out his card, glancing down at the photo of his sixteen-year-old self in the dim light of the parking lot. He cringed at the face staring back at him—limp blonde hair framing his face and a mouthful of braces—but at least his birth date proved he was several years over the age required for entry. The bouncers wouldn’t stare at the picture for too long, right?

Apparently not, because the guy at the door with the undercut and face tattoos chuckled when handed the ID and waved him in, “Go on ahead, kid. You’re good.” He couldn’t have been that much older than Prompto, what business did _he_ have calling him kid?

Prompto’s senses were bombarded with lights and sounds the moment he stepped foot in the door. To his right a bar ran along the wall, shelves stacked high with all manner of colorful bottles. Bright LEDs reflected off the glass as the tube light that ran all the way around the bar slowly shifted through a rainbow of colors. At each corner of the bar, low stages jutted out from the counter. More places for the gogo dancers to dance, he guessed, but they sat empty for now.

Straight in front of him was a small stage occupied by a female dancer with dark hair tied back in an intricate twist. Her black bustier top, strappy neon shorts and black heeled boots left little to the imagination, and the numerous bills sticking out of her shorts suggested that she was quite good at her craft. She paused her dancing to bend at the waist and accept a tip from one of the club goers close to the stage, giving the surrounding crowd a gratuitous view of her cleavage. Prompto understood why Gladio and Ignis liked coming here.

“Fuckin’ gorgeous, right?” The bass of the music thumped in Prompto’s chest and he almost couldn’t hear anything over the noise, but Gladio placed a hand on his shoulder and pulled him in close, “That’s…Raven, I think her name is? There’s a guy I think you’ll really like—Lucien—doing a show on the main stage,” he pointed to the next room over, swarming with club goers and spotlights, “In about an hour. Why don’t we get drinks in the meantime?”

Prompto didn’t get a chance to agree, but let himself be led towards the bar anyway. The hour whizzed by—as time tended to do in nightclubs—and by the time the supposedly amazing and acrobatic Lucien was set to take the stage Prompto had two drinks and a whole lot of courage in him from chatting up the bartender. She had the sweetest southern drawl he’d ever heard—it was obvious that she’s from outside the city, but Prompto couldn’t place it—and he would have stayed there all night if the barkeep herself hadn’t insisted they go watch the show. This dancer had better be worth it, Prompto thought, because other patrons behind him were eager to take his place at the bar after he left. He doubted he’d be getting that prime seat back anytime soon.

It was just minutes before the main show was set to begin and a rowdy crowd already surrounded the largest stage. Prompto didn’t think they’d have any luck getting close enough to tip the performer, but Gladio took his hand and the look in his friend’s eye said otherwise.

“Grab on to Iggy, too, and don’t let go,” Gladio raised his voice over the music, then tugged Prompto along while Ignis kept up the rear. Against all odds, the burly man led them through the crowd like it was nothing and before Prompto knew it they were just feet from the main stage.

Standing there, staring up at the grimy, glittering stage, Prompto suddenly felt very intimidated. He couldn’t scrub the awe from his expression, entirely forgot that he was still holding his two roommates’ hands, as he stared up at the tall silver pole in front of them. From far away it didn’t look so impressive, but here, Prompto felt like he wasn’t prepared for what he was about to witness.

“Don’t forget to tip him, yeah? That’s the best part,” Gladio said into his ear, patting the wallet resting in Prompto’s front pocket.

“R-right!” He scrambled out of his reverie, pulling out the singles he’d been given earlier. How would he know when it was right to tip, though? Would he just be able to tell?

The announcer’s voice that roared to life over the club’s speakers, pushing the thumping music into the background, gave Prompto no time to think. He announced the performer’s name—Lucien, Gladio was right—and the steady buzz of anticipation surrounding the stage morphed into a commotion of cheers and hollers.

A moment later, when the performer stepped out from behind a plush purple curtain, Prompto understood the excitement.

Lucien slunk onto the stage like the audience wasn’t even there, purposefully letting his hips sway at exaggerated angles as he made a lazy circle around the pole. He was dressed in nothing but black combat boots laced up the front and a pair of tiny, shimmery black shorts that couldn’t have covered more than half his ass, by Prompto’s estimation. Because yeah, he was staring. Everyone else in the room was, too, so he didn’t see anything wrong with it. He couldn’t help but notice that a bouncer stepped up to the stage, too, just inside the shadows cast by all the lights focusing on Lucien. It was the same one that checked his ID, if his memory served correctly.

Lucien gripped the pole, facing away from the crowd, but then cast a sultry look over his shoulder, his legs spread just a little too wide. He dropped down low for just a second, letting the club goers catch an eyeful of his ass swelling out of his shorts before he bounced back up, rolling his body along the pole while he flicked his tongue out at the audience. If anyone around the stage hadn’t been interested before, they were now. Gladio let out a low whistle beside him.

A few dollar bills found their way onto the stage as Lucien gestured to the DJ, cueing for his music to start. _Already?_ Prompto thought. He gripped his own money in apprehension. Should he toss a couple now, too? No, he decided; better to wait for after the show, or at least during it.

The music started low; Prompto felt the bass before he actually heard the opening notes. On stage, Lucien started with a slow, one handed spin around the pole, but then pulled himself in closer to start his first climb. He hooked his torso around one side of the pole while his leg balanced him out on the other side, and descended in a slow spin while the female vocalist hummed some sensual line.

The relaxed tempo of the song kept on for a while, but the bass in the background slowly began to pick up. Prompto watched, entranced by Lucien’s flexibility and grace as he remained almost exclusively on the pole, only touching down to the floor to make a quick transition. He suspended himself off the pole by just his arms—sometimes even one-handed—and moved through positions like liquid, shifting from hanging upside down to spreading his legs into a split.

The beat of the song started to speed up just as the crowd began to look a little too complacent with his gravity-defying maneuvers. Hooking one knee around the pole he leaned out towards the audience and spun down, making an elegant gesture to connect with them as he touched down to the floor. The vocalist crooned out the last line of the first verse and Lucien stood splitting the pole, gripping it over his head like he was winding up for something.

Something indeed, Prompto found out.

When the beat of the chorus dropped, Lucien swung a leg up and did what Prompto could only describe as a back flip as he pulled himself up the pole, then immediately slid down into a full split on the stage, his boots clacking against the black wood as he bounced there for a second. The crowd went wild, screaming and whistling loud enough to nearly drown out the music, but Lucien paid them no mind, even as more money made its way onto the stage. He transitioned through a short series of quick, but impressive tricks, then slowed back down as the song’s chorus faded out. He crossed his legs and hung upside down low on the pole; low enough to rotate slowly and grab the crowd’s tips or touch their hands as he passed.

The cycle repeated, his spins and tricks increasing in speed and difficulty as the second chorus wore on. This was it, Prompto decided; the next time the song slowed down he’d get close and offer his tip, because there was no way he could walk away from such a performance and say he was unimpressed. And if he was paying, he might as well get a little touch out of it, right? As the second chorus passed Lucien did something different, though. He floated off the pole, touching down onto the stage like he was walking on air, and slowly began dancing his way across the longer part of the stage. He got much closer to the crowd, occasionally getting down onto his knees to let patrons stuff their bills into his shorts, but he was farther away from Prompto.

The blonde deflated a bit, but was more than happy to watch Lucien grind his way down and back up the stage nonetheless. Before he knew it the song was about to swing into another chorus and Lucien was back close to the pole, doing a few more slow, low spins. It was now or never.

Prompto stuck out his tip—not all of it, though he doubted he would tip any other dancers that night—just as Lucien came around to his corner of the crowd. As predicted, the dancer plucked the bills right out of his hands, but time seemed to slow to a crawl as he kissed his palm and blew it to Prompto, winking as he completed his spin and then launched back into a more difficult move as the chorus picked up.

He didn’t catch much of Lucien’s routine in the third chorus. He was far too preoccupied with the memory of those crystalline blue eyes staring right at him. Oh be still, his beating heart.

When he zoned back in to the performance Lucien had climbed all the way to the tip top of the pole and paused for a moment to wave down at the crowd below. He wrapped himself tight around the pole and then very suddenly dropped, squeaking to a stop just inches off the floor. Even over the music, Prompto let out an audible yelp and grabbed hold of Ignis’ forearm in alarm. Ignis patted him on the shoulder with a laugh and Prompto realized that the drop was choreographed—Lucien wasn’t actually in danger. Beside him, Ignis hooted along with the rest of the crowd before letting out a shrill whistle as Lucien wrapped up his performance, ending with a dramatic pose next to the pole.

The club goers exploded into more applause and tip-throwing as the music blended back into the regular club mix. The bouncer emerged from the shadows, helping to gather the money on the stage into a black bag as Lucien strutted along, waving and blowing kisses with a bright smile on his face. He had a very nice smile, Prompto decided. A smile he wanted to see again and again, but after a few more minutes Lucien bowed out of the stage, two other gogo dancers taking his place with their regular crowd-hyping routines.

“Prompto, c’mon!” Ignis’ voice drew him away from the stage and he looked out to the dance floor to see Gladio’s hulking form beginning to blend in with the crowd, “We haven’t gotten a chance to dance yet!”

 

* * *

 

“So what did ya’ think, Prom? Wasn’t he great?”

“He was so cool! He was all blam! And swoosh! And hanging off the pole by just one hand? That was nuts!” Prompto rambled as they tromped through the gravel parking lot at the end of the night, waiting for Ignis to locate his dark colored car in the sea of equally dark colored cars, “And did you see the part? With his leg above his head and-and—”

“I was right next to you, Prom. I saw it _all_ , believe me,” Gladio emphasized, thinking back to the dancer’s legs spread wide along the pole, “His flexibility is on another level. I understand the girls doing it, but I’ve never seen a guy as good as him.”

Prompto hummed in agreement, though he didn’t have much to compare him to. Ignis clicked the lock button on his keys once more and finally located his car a few rows over. Since Prompto didn’t respond, Gladio moved to fill the silence once more.

“What do you think it would be like, Prom? To have a guy like him around the house all the time?” Despite the fact that he’d been in a nightclub watching nearly-naked dancers on stage for the past few hours, Prompto flushed at the implication. Whoever Lucien really was, he couldn’t be like that all the time, could he? But the way he moved his hips...so smooth…

“Please,” Ignis couldn’t help but chuckle at their little daydream, “I wait the tables of the rich and famous and I would bend over backwards to please them, but the thought wouldn’t even cross my mind at home with you lot. I imagine he’s much the same at home—absolutely nothing like his job.”

“But you still cook for us,” Gladio pointed out.

“And hang the laundry sometimes.”

“And clean the living room.”

“Yes, well,” Ignis opened the car door, slipping in without sparing them another glance, “If you want something done right—”

“My point exactly,” Gladio reclined the passenger’s seat, folding his arms behind his head with a smug smirk as Ignis huffed and started the car. Prompto couldn’t help but laugh at what he liked to call their ‘old-married-couple’ antics.

“By the way, thanks for dragging me out here, guys. I had a great time; much better than studying at home,” he admitted.

“No prob, Prom,” Glado shot him a finger gun from the front seat, “You should come with us every time. I had no idea you liked to dance that much.”

“I think I like to watch more. That Lucien guy was amazing!” Yeah, amazingly hot, he added on, trying not to fixate too much on the star of their night. No reason to waste time pining after someone way out of his league, after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Gladio was spouting some pretty problematic ideas at the end there. Don't worry, he won't be like that forever. 
> 
> If you haven't seen a lot of pole dancing [here's a fun reference](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/post/158485911744/slithering-around-some-new-transitions) of what Noct-ahem, Lucien might look like on the pole. 
> 
> Also if anyone was curious the characters are generally listed in order of how often they'll appear. 
> 
> More of Ignis' pole dancing later.
> 
>  


	2. Side to Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio, Ignis and Prompto are invited to watch Iris perform at her dance studio, and run into many new--and familiar--faces.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know a lot of people like Ardyn to be Trash Jesus, but here he is Actually A Very Good Man. I hope my decision for his role doesn’t throw too many people off. When you don’t think about the part of his character that is 2000 years old and hellbent on revenge, he really reminds me of the kind of eccentric people that I’ve had as choreographers and instructors in the past, so that’s why I thought he was perfect for the role. Let me know what you think!
> 
> If you're not very familiar with the dance styles being described here, I put a lot of references in the end notes!
> 
> [Into You Character Sheet](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/post/159117538779/into-you-ffxv-dance-au-character-sheet)

“I’ll be back soon, going to pick up Iris from the dance complex,” Gladio called out into the quiet living room, snagging his keys off the wall hook. Prompto sat at the low table in front of the couch, his photography textbooks spread out and ready to study all night for his upcoming midterm. Or at least until Ignis came home from work and forced him to sleep.

“Sure thing!” Came Prompto’s answer, and Gladio opened the front door to venture out into the dull, rainy afternoon. It wasn’t coming down all _that_ hard, but enough to slow down traffic and generally annoy everyone.

He checked the time on his phone as he slammed the car door shut against the elements. Three-forty; he’d be right on time to pick up Iris at four, then. As he stared at his lock screen—the background taken up by a photo of he and Iris at the previous year’s Moogle-Chocobo Carnival—he couldn’t help but notice the date. It was the middle of October, meaning the anniversary of Iris’ first day in her old dance studio was coming up. Even now, eight years later, he remembered that day clearly.

Iris started dancing young; in Gladio’s book, anyway. Apparently ten years old was late for little girls that wanted to grow up and be professional ballet dancers, but he digressed. That wasn’t Iris. Their father brought up the idea of enrolling her after she showed no interest in sports and lifting weights like himself. Dancing would keep her active and fit, their father said, and he was a stickler for that, if nothing else.

She began in a small, exclusive studio near their old estate, learning the fundamentals of ballet and jazz. Their father dragged him along to drop Iris off, saying she needed the support on her very first day. As it turned out, Clarus was the one that really needed the support. While most parents dropped their children off and left to run errands, their father couldn’t bear the thought of leaving his baby girl alone for a whole two hours. So he sat there with his father, watching Iris and the other students learn how to point their toes and plié and move through correct arm positions, and greeted her with a big smile after class when she bound out from the adjoined room and babbled the whole car ride home about how much fun she had.

Though ten might have been a late age to start, Gladio considered them lucky that she started at the age she did. He was able to enjoy a good five years of attending Iris’ dance recitals with their father before he suddenly passed away.

Gladio had been twenty-three and an undergrad at the time, but Iris was only fifteen. She was placed in his care, but Gladio lived on the university campus clear on the other side of Insomnia. In the span of a week they went from planning a funeral to looking for a new place to live to enrolling Iris in a new high school. Luckily the generous inheritance their father left behind covered it all and then some—and they found a third roommate in Ignis, who agreed to break the on-campus lease with Gladio and move out—but in all the chaos Iris’ dancing fell by the wayside.

After a few months, she brought up the idea of enrolling in a nearby dance studio to Gladio. He scoffed at himself, remembering how the terrible guilt trip he’d been on caused him to open up their father’s bank account to Iris and let her do whatever she wanted to be happy again. This was a different type of dance studio, he remembered Iris saying, this studio focused on hip-hop and street dance. He didn’t consider what that would entail and took her shopping for anything she said she needed—new clothes, colorful sneakers, expensive makeup. It had all worked out for the best, but at the time, it was a foolish decision.

Pulling up to the curb of the _Cosmogony Studio for Modern Dance_ and seeing his sister’s hundred-watt smile, even on a rainy day, made it all worth it, though. Iris rushed over to the car, yanked the door open and threw her duffel in the foot well before jumping in herself.

“How was class today, kid?” Gladio asked, a small smirk playing on his lips as they fist-bumped in greeting before he shifted the car back into drive.

“It was so really good, actually! My instructor _finally_ let me dance with the more advanced groups today, rather than the other kids my age. I couldn’t believe it when he pointed to me! I thought he mistook me for someone else!” She spoke a mile a minute as she explained, still running off the adrenaline high of dancing with the older students. Gladio didn’t really understand how it all worked, but it was obvious how much this mattered to her.

“I take it you learned a lot today, then?”

“I did! I finally got to dance next to this guy that’s been helping me out a lot—his name’s Noct—so that gave me a ton of confidence. And Miss Aranea even said I had really good energy and performance quality. It made my day! Do you even know how hard it is to get a compliment from her, Gladdy?” She rambled on in disbelief while digging around in her bag, eventually procuring a granola bar and tearing open the packaging.

“I don’t, but I take it her compliments are rare?”

“Super rare!” She exclaimed, her mouth full of half chewed granola.

“Hey, not in the car, yeah? It’s on you if I get ants in here.” Iris grumbled something that Gladio didn’t hear, but finally relaxed back in her seat a little. They drove in silence for the whole minute and a half it took her to devour the bar.

“Gladdy?” she started again, this time sounding much more apprehensive, “You know how you and dad used to come to my recitals?”

Gladio’s expression fell into a sad smile, his eyes still trained on the road, “Yeah, why?”

“Well there’s this…thing. Coming up at the studio. And I kinda wanted you to come watch.”

Gladio faked a long, dramatic gasp, “ _Me?_ Coming to watch you dance? I thought you were too cool to invite your older brother to the studio; I never thought I’d see the day…”

“Gladio!” She exclaimed, giving him a weak punch on the bicep as he laughed, “It’s just been a long time, you know? I don’t do recitals anymore—everyone in the studio just kinda dances for themselves unless they go to college for it—so now’s the only chance you’ll get to see me in a performance setting. It’s a fundraiser event for the studio, so it costs a little to get in, but a lot of groups are going to be performing there!”

“I’m just kidding,” he said, waving his hand in the air between them, “I’d love to come, Iris. You think I should drag along Ignis and Prompto, too?”

Iris’ eyes lit up at the prospect, practically vibrating in her seat, “You totally should! The more the merrier, right? Plus, I can introduce you guys to all of my friends!”

Gladio couldn’t help the smile that crept on to his face as they pulled into the driveway, ready to dash inside to get out of the rain. He couldn’t wait, then, since Iris spoke so highly of everyone, especially this Noct guy. It would be nice to finally connect faces to the names of the people that had helped pull Iris out of her slump years ago.

 

* * *

 

“So, you guys wanna go? It’s next Sunday,” Gladio asked his other roommates the next day, lounging on their couch with his kinesiology textbook draped over his lap.

“Yeah, sounds neat! You know I’ll always support my girl Iris,” Prompto said from the foyer, fixing his hair in the mirror before he left for work, “But Sunday? I’ll be working at the gun range in the morning. Think you can pick me up on your way there?”

“Yeah, it’s no problem. But do you really want to go wearing _that_?” Gladio gestured to his roommate’s work outfit, consisting of what Prompto liked to call ‘dad jeans’ and a black polo with the range’s name embroidered onto the breast. “Don’t want to ruin your punk image in front of Iris, do you?”

“Hey, you know I can’t help the uniform, the manager’s like sixty years old! Not to mention our customers. I can’t greet a bunch of gun-totin’ straight guys in skinny jeans and a tank top,” he said with a huff, putting his hands on his hips, “I’ll bring something to change in to. Don’t worry, Gladio, I won’t tarnish your leather-clad ass with my dad jeans and sensible polo.”

Gladio rolled his eyes at his friend, who only continued adjusting his hair in the mirror.

“I really don’t see why you spend so much time on his hair right before you bike to work,” Ignis remarked from the kitchen, waiting for his coffee to brew, “But regardless, I’d love to go. I have a shift that night, but I can drop it— a Sunday night would make someone a lot of money, so someone’s bound to pick it up.” He pulled out his phone and set about logging in to his work’s scheduling app.

“Hey, you don’t have to come if you’re gonna lose money over it,” Gladio said, but Ignis dismissed his worries with a wave of his hand.

“It’s no matter, I work plenty already. Plus, I don’t get to support Iris enough, considering we both partake in the performing arts.”

“Well, you’re right about the ‘arts’, but I don’t know about the ‘performing’…” Gladio quipped, alluding to the fact that Iris hadn’t performed in years, and Ignis hadn’t ever done pole in front of a group that wasn’t a class.

Ignis clicked his tongue, rolling his eyes as he poured himself a cuppa. “There are many intrinsic rewards to performance art, so many that they might outweigh the extrinsic, I would say,” he said, joining him in the living room with his fresh cup of ebony—it was one of his rare nights off, so he was set to enjoy it. Gladio paused for a second, but then heaved a long sigh.

“Something the matter?” Ignis asked, and Prompto finally stopped his preening.

“There’s… one other thing. Promise you guys won’t laugh at me for this? It’s kind of dumb.” Prompto walked up behind the couch and gave him a slap on the shoulder.

“C’mon, dude! We’d never do that. What’s eatin’ ya?”

“Well, it’s just…Iris started out doing ballet and jazz and that sort of thing, you know? Pretty, cutesy dance. What she does now, hip-hop, it’s very…well…different,” He shifted around on the couch cushions, abandoning his textbook on the coffee table.

“Well I knew that, big guy. She told me the first day I moved in! You knew that, right Ignis?” Prompto looked to the other man, not catching the drift of Gladio’s confession. Ignis reclined back into the armchair, a sly smile on his lips as he nodded to Prompto.

“Yeah, but,” Gladio sighed, deciding to just come out with it, “Some of the moves she does are very…sexual, I guess you could say. It’s not…it’s not _about_ sex, the moves are just kinda raunchy, okay? I just wanted to prepare you…so you didn’t, like, take anything the wrong way or somethin’…” he trailed off, ducking his head down. Now that he’d said it out loud, it seemed even more silly.

Still, his friends stayed true to their word. “It’s no problem, Gladio. I can certainly understand why you would feel that way. What she does is an art form as much as anything else is, though, so I have nothing but respect for her,” Ignis assured, and Gladio’s shoulders visibly relaxed.

“Yeah, what he said!” Prompto chipped in, voice as cheery as always, “Plus, it can’t be _that_ sexy, right? Iris started dancing there when she was just a kid!”

 

* * *

 

Prompto was proven wrong within the first five minutes of stepping foot in the studio. After paying for their entry, they were directed to a large, main studio room where dozens of dancers were warming up or practicing in their own space. A few sets of bleachers ran along one wall while the other was filled entirely by floor-to-ceiling mirrors and a ballet barre.

Not even a dozen feet from the entrance a young boy, he couldn’t have been more than ten by Prompto’s estimation, was going over a routine with quite a few provocative moves and— _oh.my.god_ , Prompto thought, _he moves better than I ever will in my entire life!!_

Gladio noticed the boy, too, and paused for a moment, trying to gauge Prompto’s reaction on a scale of ‘this is totally fine’ to ‘I’m leaving right now’. Ignis continued on ahead, intent on finding them seats while he observed the numerous dancers on the floor.

“You’re so good, man!” Prompto finally blurted out, perhaps a little louder than he’d meant to, but Gladio let relief wash over him, “Really! That’s like- wow! You’re really awesome!”

The boy’s eyes lit up, a shy smile crossing his features, “Thank you!”

A moment later, a cry of ‘Talcott!’ came from across the room. The two looked up to find an older boy in a worn baseball hat waving the younger—Talcott, Prompto assumed—over by the mirrors. Talcott flashed Prompto another smile before jogging off, weaving in between the other dancers using the floor.

“Gladio, this is so cool!” Prompto said, sweeping his eyes over the crowd, “I knew Iris went to a really good studio but…boy! I didn’t expect this.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Gladio said, settling into their seats next to Ignis. The stands were already quite full. They observed the crowd of students for a few minutes longer, realizing that there were dancers of several styles warming up. The students dressed in tights and leotards were obviously part of a ballet class, while it was pretty safe to say the ones dressed in a mix of leggings, sweatpants, jeans, flannel, ripped shirts and snapback hats were part of Iris’ hip-hop class. The third group, adorned in plain, but tight-fit clothing, was harder to place.

“Jazz dancers,” Ignis said, before Prompto could even ask, “It’s an older form of dance that started in clubs and parties, but eventually made its way to theatre stages around the world.”

“Oh?” Prompto asked, idly thumbing the mode wheel on his camera, “How’s that different from what Iris does?”

“Well, they’re usually more technically trained than hip-hop dancers, but that’s not always true,” he said, tapping a finger to his chin as he thought, “They’re similar in that they have very free and creative choreography. It’s not as structured as ballet.”

“Hey guys!” Iris interrupted them, bounding up the bleachers and giving Gladio a one-armed hug, “Thank you for coming, it really means a lot to me!”

“Hey, it’s no problem! I can always make time for you,” Prompto teased with a wink. “But actually, I have a question for you,” he said, gesturing to the camera around his neck, “Is it okay if I take pictures? I think this would work really well with an assignment I have coming up.”

Her eyes lit up at the prospect, but then she reeled herself back in. “Let me go ask our main instructor, but I think he’ll say yes! That would be so awesome, if you could!”

Prompto nodded as she ran off again, hopping down the metal seats of the bleachers with ease. Prompto and the other two boys watched as she moved to the far side of the studio where a very tall man was standing with two women. They were dressed much more chic than their students—though that wasn’t particularly difficult, given that most of the students wore sweaty practice clothes—and simply commanded attention, even from a distance. Of the three of them, Iris approached the man with an odd shade of red-violet hair.

They conversed for a moment, but then the tall man gave a short nod Iris bowed her head back with a smile. She began making her way back over to the boys, but Prompto already knew the answer. Before Iris was within shouting distance he had his camera on, aiming it in the direction of the dance floor for some test shots.

“Thanks Iris!” he said as she retook her seat, hopping up from his own seat and zooming off to find a more interesting angle to shoot from. Iris shared a smile with Ignis and Gladio on Prompto’s behalf, but then the soft tapping of a hand on a microphone commanded their attention. Bit by bit, the dancers on the floor stopped warming up and meandered to the back of the room.

“Hello everyone!” A voice most ostentatious washed over the room as the same red-haired man from before took center stage. From the side Prompto took a few more test shots, adjusting the settings on his camera for the lighting, “I would like to be the first to welcome you to our little fundraiser here, and thank you for coming out tonight. It is a huge help to our studio to receive such support, and seeing the faces of all the friends and family that support our students in their creative endeavors is always a joy.” His long black cardigan and grey scarf swaying as he turned, addressing both sides of the crowd. “My name is Ardyn Izunia and I am one of the lead choreographers here at _Cosmogony._ I instruct and choreograph for all levels of hip-hop classes that we host here,” he explained, moseying from one side of the room to the other as he spoke, making sure to catch everyone’s eye.

“Before we begin our amazing line up of performances, I’d like to introduce a few of my fellow staff members.” He swept an arm dramatically to his left and the blonde woman from earlier walked forward, dressed in a sleek white dress and silver cardigan. A silver haired man in a light grey peacoat stood just behind her.

“First off, Miss Lunafreya Nox Fluret and her brother Ravus Nox Fluret, our ballet instructors,” Another sweep of his arm and, this time, a flip of his hair, “And, Miss Aranea Highwind, who both instructs our jazz classes and assists with my hip-hop classes.” The silver haired woman, wearing a black vest over a red blouse and fitted black jeans, stepped forward and nodded in recognition. “You’ll have plenty of time after the performances to come speak with us, but without further adieu I’d like to begin with Miss Fluret’s ballet classes.”

Luna took the microphone and spoke for a moment, thanking the parents that entrusted their children to their program. Her younger students took the stage first, their ages ranging from about ten to thirteen. While Prompto’s camera snapped away at the young dancers, Ignis’ eyes scanned the room to find Ardyn standing against the far wall with his group of dancers. Ardyn and the boy they saw earlier—with the worn baseball cap—were admiring the young ballet dancers, the boy pointing and smiling when one of them did something particularly well, or particularly cute.

When the youngest ballet dancers finished a number of people rose out of the stands with raucous applause—it was easy to tell who the parents of the young performers were. A slightly older group of ballet dancers took the stage following that, and the group after them consisted of dancers that were older teens and young adults. The increase in skill level was quite impressive, from the youngest dancers performing basic skills and leap combinations to the oldest executing dramatic lifts and daring turn sequences.

The night continued on with Miss Highwind’s jazz performers. Prompto continued to move from one side of the room to the other, trying to get at least one shot of every dancer that performed. Iris sat in between Gladio and Ignis and whispered secrets to them—pointing out her friends and which parts of the dance were the most technically challenging. Ignis, who usually enjoyed observing in silence, was endeared by her little quips and glimpses into her world as a performer.

Just as the last jazz group finished Iris slipped away, moving around the perimeter of the room to join her fellow dancers. As the first hip-hop group took the floor Gladio could see her in the back of the room, pointing him out in the stands to her friends. A good handful of people swarmed around her—men and women, some who looked her age and some that looked older than he—presumably asking her to point out her brother again. He shook his head at her antics and focused back on the floor.

The first hip-hop group consisted of the youngest performers just like the other dance styles. The brown-haired boy—Talcott, if he could recall—marched up to the front of the group, proud to take the center position. Ardyn gave him a look before cuing for the music to start, and their performance began.

It wasn’t a very long routine, but at some point Ignis started smiling and found it impossible to wipe the joy off his face. Even the youngest group—some of them couldn’t have been more than _nine, Eos’ sake_ —was so high energy, their passion so infectious. When the kids finished they retreated to the back of the room only to be greeted by their older counterparts who were all smiles, high fives and fist bumps.

“Dude, Talcott, you were so great!” The boy in the ball cap rustled his hair as he came back, pulling him into a quick hug. Gladio couldn’t help the small smile sneaking onto his face either; if all the students were this friendly with each other, he could see why Iris’ mood improved so much after she enrolled. It was not a mistake, he decided, no matter what the cost.

The second group that took the floor was made up of boys and girls that were closer to Iris’ age. This must have been the group Iris would have danced with, Gladio realized, up until a week or so ago. There was no denying their skill even as such an age, but he began to understand why the promotion meant so much to her. Moving up to dance with the older group was a big honor for her, but it was also a recognition of her improvement and skill. He couldn’t wait to see just how much she had changed and grown as a performer from her days in pink tights and ballet slippers.

Finally, Iris’ group took the floor. Gladio let his eyes sweep over her fellow dancers. There was Iris, on the outside left; next to her was a girl in a bright yellow crop-top bomber jacket; then the boy in the worn ball cap; a girl with long black hair; another guy—the tallest of the group—with wild brown hair and little face tattoos; and on the outside right a guy that was heavier set than the rest, his hair tied back in braids and a ponytail. Sitting there, looking at all the other performers, Gladio felt himself getting nervous. His stomach twisted into knots and his palms felt cold. What if Iris made a mistake? He hadn’t been in an audience for her in years, what if _he_ made her make a mistake? All he wanted was for his little sister to do well, why was this so nerve racking all of the sudden?

But there was no time. Ardyn raised his hand and cued the music and the speakers boomed to life. The dancers didn't start right away, bobbing to the beat as they waited for the part of the song they came in on. At the start of the second verse the floor burst to life, all six dancers moving through quick arm positions, making dramatic shapes as their torsos suspended and dropped. Complicated step sequences were made effortless and they surprised the audience with turns, jumps, and sudden stops to execute slower, more sensual moves. Gladio’s eyes were glued to Iris and about halfway through he let himself relax. She was doing so well! In his eyes anyway; he was no professional, but he could hardly believe the girl practicing battements in the dining room had transformed into such a power house of popping and locking.

“Gladio,” Ignis whispered into his ear, as if he worried about being heard over the speakers, and pointed to the boy in the ball cap, “Isn’t that—”

The rest of Ignis’ comment was drowned out by the cheers of the crowd—the boy’s hat had flown off his head during a dramatic turn. His hair—black as night, it turned out—shook free as he continued dancing without a care. Even his fellow dancers laughed and made faces at his dramatics as the routine went on.

“Ifrit's ass, Iggy,” Gladio mumbled back, understanding what Ignis was pointing out. He glanced over to Prompto, who had stopped snapping all of the sudden. Prompto took a long look at the boy and then glanced up to meet Gladio’s eyes, the same shock painted all over his face.

There was no denying it. He was the same gogo dancer—Lucien—that they had all so lusted over at _The Citadel_. Right there. Dancing with Gladio’s younger sister. Lucian—that wasn’t his real name, _Iris knew his real name_ —looked different in a plain t-shirt and jeans, without his hair styled up and his body covered in glitter, but it was definitely him.

…But now that Gladio thought about it, the girl next to Lucien looked awfully familiar. Could she be…Raven, who also danced at the club? His head was starting to spin with the revelation. He turned his eyes back to Iris, content with watching her finish up the routine and clapping with everyone else. Ardyn made some closing remarks, and then they were released to socialize with the dancers and other attendees.

“So what did you guys think?” Iris greeted them with a brilliant smile as she dabbed sweat from her face. Gladio and Ignis were finding it hard to meet her gaze, but Prompto did his best to cover for them.

“You were amazing, Iris!” He exclaimed, all his usual jubilee covering up the awkward of the other two, “I took a _ton_ of pictures, and I tried to get a lot of you!”

“Hey now, that’s not fair to everyone else,” she said, but leaned over Prompto’s shoulder to look at his camera anyway.

“You did a great job, Iris,” Gladio, finally composed, laid a hand on her shoulder, “I…you’ve grown so much from back then. I wish dad could see how good you’ve gotten.”

A sad sort of smile graced her face for a second, but she willed it away. “Aw, come on, Gladdy, don’t get all sappy with me now,” she playfully shoved at his shoulder, “But I’m glad you liked it. I had a lot of fun, dancing in front of you guys.”

“Speaking of the dancing,” Ignis said, slick as always, “Weren’t you eager to point out your fellow dancers earlier, Iris? Could you perhaps point out the ones who danced with you tonight?”

Iris nodded, eager for the change in subject. She’d cried plenty over her dad already, how he’d never see her grow as a performer, and now was not the time for tears. “Definitely! Let’s see who I can find…” She spun on her heel to look through the crowd, and eventually pointed to three people towards the back of the room. It was the girl with long black hair, the guy with face tattoos, and the other guy with his hair tied back in braids.

“That’s Crowe, Nyx and Libertus,” She said, pointing each of them out, “They’ve been dancing here for a while—Crowe goes to Insomnia U for dance, too.”

“Does she?” Ignis asked. He’d never come across her on campus, though they did attend the largest university in Insomnia.

“Uh-huh. She’s definitely the most technically skilled among us. She’s done it all; ballet, modern, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip-hop. And she dances here for fun, but she’s been cast in a major role in almost every season at the university.” The three boys almost relaxed, because it appeared that Iris was done listing off Crowe’s dance experience. Perhaps they had been wrong?

“She even _works_ as a dancer, too! I don’t know how she does it.” Nope, they were all too right, “She dances at a club called _The Citadel_ ; you’ve been there, haven’t you Gladdy? A lot of the dancers work there, actually. I think it’s how they all met.”

“Really?” Gladio said, through gritted teeth, “I…didn’t recognize them.”

“Yep!” Iris was blissfully unaware of how uncomfortable the boys were getting, “Nyx and Libertus are…bouncers I think? And Cindy,” she pointed to a group of people near the bleachers, to the girl with the bright yellow bomber jacket, “Is a bartender. She just dances for fun.” Prompto visibly paled, shrinking back behind Ignis, “And next to her, Noct, is one of the club dancers, too. You’ll have to take me sometime, Gladdy. It sounds like a ton of fun.”

“Excuse me what was his name?” Prompto had no shame as he burst forward, trying to get the best look he could at the boy.

“Well, everyone calls him Noct, but Noctis is his full name. He’s crazy good; he helps me whenever I’m struggling with some new stuff Ardyn throws at us,” She explained, then tapped her finger to her lips, “Which reminds me, I need to talk to him before we go. Back in a flash!” She was off before any of the boys could get a word in edgewise, so they were left standing in the sea of mingling parents and dancers, their mouths hung open in shock.

“Ah, so this was our little photographer for the night?” Prompto’s mouth audibly clicked shut as the new voice addressed them. Ardyn waltzed up to the group, Luna and Ravus in tow. He hadn’t noticed through the viewfinder of his camera, but now up close he noticed that Ravus actually had a _prosthetic arm?_ What!? It was his last thought before he was thrown back on topic by Ardyn offering him a delicate hand, “Ardyn, as I introduced myself earlier. Might I ask your name?”

The blonde almost forgot to take his hand because _wow,_ the man looked intimidating from across the room, up close he literally towered over Prompto. “Uh, o-oh! Prompto, sir. Prompto Argentum. I’m majoring in photography at Insomnia University.”

“Ah, a student of the visual arts, rather than us performers. How wonderful," He purred. "Now Prompto, Luna and I were curious as to if you had a card. The kids don’t always have the opportunity for a performance to be photographed, so we’d love to share your work with them once you’ve uploaded it somewhere.” He spoke with a tone that Prompto found hard to refuse. He could see why the man was so successful.

He froze up for a moment, trying to recall if he still had a few old business cards stored away in his wallet. He’d only had a few printed as a requirement for a class assignment, but after a moment of digging, he produced two lightly worn cards with a web address and email printed across them.

“I-I just upload them on an image hosting site usually, but you’re welcome to share them anywhere!” He offered the cards with a slight bow of his head, “Thank you for letting me take photos, too! Any practice is good practice, you know?”

“Indeed it is, and you’re very welcome,” Ardyn said.

“Truly, thank you very much for this,” Luna added before she and Ravus bowed out. A group of mothers of her younger ballet students looked quite eager for her attention.

Ardyn zeroed in on Gladio, then, “And you must be Iris’ older brother, Gladiolus, if memory serves? She speaks very highly of you.” Gladio couldn’t help his abashed look as Ardyn continued, “Thank you for continually supporting her in her passions. She’s a joy to have in class, truly.”

It was Gladio’s turn to look away, then, “It’s no problem, sorry I didn’t show my face sooner,” he rubbed at the back of his neck. “This place, though…everyone here really helped her—and me, by extension—move past our father’s death a few years ago. I don’t know how we would have recovered otherwise, so thank you for that, too.” Gladio felt a weight lift off his chest. It had only been, what? Three years? And he only now managed to thank her instructors? Better late than never, he supposed.

“Well, you’re very welcome, then. The dancers…we’re all like a family to each other, and I know firsthand how reassuring it can be to have a family away from family. You’re always welcome here, should you ever want to come back.” He thanked them once more, for coming out to support the studio, and then drifted off to meet up with a short-haired man they didn’t recognize. Just as he left, Iris came back.

“That went better than expected.” Prompto put it frankly, nervously twiddling his thumbs. Iris couldn’t help but giggle.

“Yeah, he’s kind of a scary guy at first. It took me almost a whole month to talk to him when I joined! But he’s very kind when you get to know him. He cares deeply for everyone here,” she reassured them.

They left soon after—Iris and Prompto had class the next morning, while Gladio had an early shift at the university’s gym—the thought of Noctis pushed to the back of their minds once again. So he danced with Iris and danced at the club, so what? There was no way he’d recognize them if they went back to _The Citadel_ again, anonymous faces in the sea of other clubgoers. Iris hadn't mentioned him attending the University, so there was no other way they'd run into him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [First off, here's some Jazz dance](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJTz1UbpSXM) as it's usually performed in competitions. Jazz has a huge variation as a style, though. You could very well find routines that look nothing like that but are still jazz. 
> 
> [Second, some hip hop](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OD9Wf1Jffjc) and a great reference for how different dance can look similar but unique on different bodies, from a huge guy like Ardyn to a little kid like Talcott. [Here's a second reference](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFWieJL6Xys) just because I really love that choreography. 
> 
> I hope everything made sense! A question for you guys, since we've seen most of the characters for a hot second now. Does anyone want a character sheet with everyone's basic info and place in the AU? Would that help with juggling all the characters and their (minor) backstories? Let me know!


	3. Touch It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Iris convinces Noctis to teach her some basic pole dance moves and, lo and behold, they run into Ignis at the dance studio.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't already noticed, this fic and all the chapters are named after songs from Ariana Grande's 'Dangerous Woman' album (well, the 1st chapter name is from one of the lyrics in the song 'Dangerous Woman' b/c I didn't want to call Noct a woman haha). One day I just happened to be listening to that album and it inspired this whole fic, basically. 
> 
> I included links to Youtube videos for the pole dancing moves I've mentioned here. I thought a visual reference would be helpful if anyone didn't understand!
> 
> [Into You Character Sheet](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/post/159117538779/into-you-ffxv-dance-au-character-sheet)
> 
> Edit-The links weren't working but they're fixed now!

It was a rare day that Noctis’ alarm blared through his pitch dark room earlier than 2 p.m. He got off work between 3:30 and 4 a.m., got home by 4:30, and then was in bed by 5, so waking up before 2 in the afternoon was basically a sin.

But last Sunday at _Cosmogony’s_ fundraiser performance Iris had begged him to teach her some basic pole. Well, she’d been asking for a while, but Sunday just happened to be the day his will to say no ran out. As long as she paid for the studio space and swore not to complain when she went home covered in bruises, he would teach her. And today was Wednesday? Right? He shut off the alarm and checked his phone. Yes, Wednesday, 12:30 pm. Working through the night, sleeping for eight hours and then waking up on the same day was a feeling he’d never get used to.

So, today was Wednesday. And he had tomorrow off, and that was the only reason was he was going to go teach Iris pole today. No way in hell he’d spend hours in a studio doing pole, only to go home and change and go to work to do pole. Nuh uh, not happening. But getting up at 12:30 to be at the studio by 2, spending a couple hours there with Iris and then coming back home to play video games all night until he passed out sometime around 4 a.m. didn’t sound too bad for a day off.

Before he knew it his eyes were closed again, but then his alarm for 12:45 was going off and dammit, he only had forty-five minutes to get ready now. He shut the damn thing off, shoved himself out of bed and stepped out of his boxers, making his way towards the shower. A hot shower and bowl of oatmeal later Noctis was heading out the door, tapping the studio address into Moogle Maps on his phone. Thank Eos that the app updated a few years ago with an option to navigate by public transit; without such a feature he didn’t think he’d get anywhere in time, much less take the right train.

The name of the studio was quite generic—Allure Dance—he didn’t think he’d ever passed it before, not that he would have gone inside, anyway. Studios like that, that taught pole classes for recreation just seemed too…snooty.

It turned out he was right. Noctis was careful to wait for Iris before heading inside. Not only was she paying, but the receptionist wouldn’t look at her and think _exotic dancer_. No, her eighteen-year-old enthusiasm and girlish smile just screamed ‘recreational pole’.

“Um, hi, we’d like to purchase some studio space, for the both of us,” Iris said to the woman at the desk, motioning to herself and Noctis. The woman greeted her with a small smile but looked Noctis over once before letting the smile drift back to her face. He wanted to roll his eyes—it wasn’t like he was wearing his work shorts, tiny and glittery and revealing, just a t-shirt and some calf-length cargos. Nonetheless, he nodded in return.

“Sure, are you two members here?” The woman asked, typing something onto the computer at the desk.

“No, not at the moment,” Iris answered with a wave of her hand, no doubt trying to deflect any offers of membership. Noctis, for one, was not interested.

“No problem then. It’s two-thousand gil each, for the day. If for any reason there is high demand for studio space we may ask you to leave after a few hours to make room for other customers, but that rarely happens on weekdays,” She explained, handing over the receipt after Iris paid, “I believe there’s only one gentleman in there now, so you two should be fine.”

Through the door past the lobby was a main common area furnished with a few plush chairs, lockers and a large bulletin board advertising classes and specials. The studio housed two classrooms—one open and one closed. In the closed room a studio staff member was setting up for a class, while through the open door they could hear footsteps and the slide of skin on a chrome pole. Noctis nodded in the direction of the restrooms on the far wall.

“You gonna pole dance in that, or go change?” He asked, poking fun at her pleated school uniform skirt and modest button up. Well, it wouldn’t be the first time he saw a routine in such an outfit, but he imagined Iris wasn’t looking to learn _that_ today.

“Hey, I brought clothes! I told you I came straight from school,” she chided him, and he snickered as she left to change in the restroom. He loitered around the common area as she changed, glancing over the bulletin board and into the closed classroom. He checked out the room they would be using, too. He stood a few feet back from the door and looked inside, not wanting to disturb the guy practicing in there already.

From a quick glance he estimated about eighteen poles, plus one for the class instructor, and the typical floor to ceiling mirrors. All the poles had the option of being static or spinning, from what he could see. Best to keep Iris on static for now, it being her first lesson and all, though maybe towards the end he could switch one over to spinning mode and wow her with some tricks. Of course he _loved_ drunk, star struck club goers throwing money at him, but it was rewarding to impress a friend, too.

Also the guy practicing was tall as _fuck_. Noctis couldn’t fathom how people that tall and lanky could do pole—his shorter and smaller stature afforded him a lower center of gravity, not to mention less length to control when spinning. When the guy dismounted from whatever he’d been attempting—an [aerial shoulder mount](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YREh4pQ8Nls), it looked like?—Noctis had to admit he was being a _little_ dramatic. The guy was three or four inches taller than him at best, but still, his legs went on for days. No wonder he was having trouble with the shoulder mount; Noctis would too, if he had that much weight to haul up above his head.

Moments later the bathroom door swung open and Iris emerged in a tank top and yoga shorts, looking ready to take on the world.

 

* * *

 

Ignis knew full well that Iris would be coming to the studio for a lesson with Noctis; it was the only thing she could talk about all week. After brushing aside Gladio and Prompto’s shock, the two agreed not to acknowledge each other and focus on their practicing—though that move was mainly on Ignis’ part because he felt awkward around Noctis. But, he couldn’t deny someone, much less Iris and Noct, the chance to enjoy an art and a good workout at the same time.

…had he just called Iris friend ‘Noct’ in his head, without ever having met him? Noctis didn’t even know _his_ name, and Ignis was already moving on to nicknames. How embarrassing…perhaps he did have it bad for Noctis, or worse than he thought before.

He’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel an odd sort of protectiveness over Iris, but it was hard to compete with someone as skilled as Noctis. He watched Noct lead her through stretching, through basic pole terminology and safety, and it was like watching a live replay of his first pole class, but in a one-on-one setting. They moved on to actually getting on the pole.

“So we’re going to place this arm around the pole, then grip with your thumb up, and this is our…?” Noctis prompted, modeling the grip he wanted Iris to copy.

“Our…inside arm?” Iris said as she kept readjusting her grip.

“Yep,” Noctis nodded, “And then our outside arm will grip just above our other hand, leaving a little bit of space. And this is a normal grip as opposed to…?”

“An inverted one?”

“You’ve got it. Now, engage your shoulders back and down so you’ve got a strong grip, go onto your toes, and…” Noctis modeled the move first, pulling his knees up close to his elbows, “Pull your knees up as high as you can. It’s a good ab workout, but don’t worry if you can’t get all the way up, it might take a while.” Iris nodded and then tried for herself, and managed to get her thighs parallel with the floor. Noctis shared her accomplished smile as she returned her feet to the floor.

“Good,” He said, “Want to try for ten in a row?” And Iris’ smile fell right off her face.

Ignis watched, under the guise of sitting down for a break and some water, as they went through ten, and then another ten. Iris groaned at the extra, but got through them nonetheless.

“Great! Now let’s grab some water and I’ll teach you something more fun,” Noctis said, moving over to his bag to fish out his water bottle. Iris, as she drank, caught Ignis’ eye, and Ignis got the message. Perhaps it _was_ time to get back to work.

He chided himself for not focusing more on his own practice—he did really want to get the aerial mount down and try the tabletop position he’d learned last class, too. He rewarmed with a regular shoulder mount into an inversion, then switched over to the combination he’d been practicing for the aerial mount. A basic climb, then hooking one knee and switching hand placements to turn his back to the pole, and _pull—_

Still nothing. Not having the floor below him to push off of was the problem, or that’s the best that he could figure out without an instructor to help. After a few more thwarted attempts he resigned himself to more workouts, hoping that more shoulder and core strength was the trick. On to the [tabletop.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=df0bkwCz938)

But he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t watching Noctis on the pole, as he led Iris through [a pole walk, a basic dip and a fireman’s spin.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wK-KsPZ9Ac&t=2s) He was just so effortless, floating around the pole as if gravity had no effect on him. Ignis could only dream of having such grace.

That was enough distractions, though. Back to the tabletop. Getting into the pose was simple enough; inside arm gripped thump up with his forearm pressed tight along the pole, outside arm behind his back for support, gripping the pole like a cup. Then lean back, let his outside arm support his weight, one leg up, then both, rotate, rotate, rotate that outside shoulder up and…

Ignis settled into the pose and held it for two seconds…three…four…five…he was doing it! He totally nailed it, and then out of foolish want for validation, whipped his head over to Noctis and Iris across the room. They weren’t looking, to his disappointment, but the momentum from his head continued down his body and…!

With one wrong move and a loud _thunk_ he was in a heap, face down on the floor.

“Whoa, are you alright?” Noctis’ voice, of course. A gentle hand touched his shoulder. Once again, how embarrassing.

“I…I think so, thank you,” Ignis said as he shifted himself into a sitting position, hoping he could regain at least a little shred of his dignity.

Noctis flashed him a big, bright smile when their eyes met. “No prob. If it makes you feel any better, I fell, like, every day when I was learning some of the more advanced moves,” Ignis said nothing, but let his eyes soften in response. After a beat, Noct continued, “B-but you were looking good! Your moves, I mean. If you keep practicing I’m sure you’ll get it.”

“Well, thank you. It means a lot, coming from someone of your skill.” Confusion drifted through Noctis’ eyes, but he kept his smile polite. Ah, perhaps not the best way to phrase it. Ignis didn’t want Noct thinking he saw him at the club, “I was with Iris’ brother at the dance studio this past Sunday. You were stunning to watch, and Iris speaks very highly of you.”

“Oh, well thanks,” Noctis rubbed his nose, as if trying to his the blush on his cheeks, “And you didn’t tell me you knew him, jerk,” He elbowed Iris in the side, and she giggled in return.

“Hey, we just wanted to focus on our practice, right Ignis?”

Noctis perked up at the name. Oh, he hadn’t even introduced himself yet; he was just all over the place today, wasn’t he? “She’s right, actually; it was more my idea than hers. I suppose I am quite shy when it comes to this sort of thing.”

A nervous laugh, “Oh, do I know the feeling. I can’t blame you, then.” Silence passed between them for a moment and Ignis unfolded his legs to check that the skin on his knees hadn’t actually been broken. Thankfully he was without a scratch, but bruises were sure to come. It was Iris that broke the silence.

“I’ll…be right back,” Iris said as she stood, grasping her hands behind her back and skipping off towards the open door. Ignis nearly lost his composure and rolled his eyes—as if she didn’t know what she was doing.

Noctis, on the other hand, felt a little more than confused and backed into a corner. “Sooo…How do you guys know each other?” There was nothing more awkward than silence, in his books, so he may as well keep on talking. Ignis seemed like a pretty easygoing guy, at least.

“We’re roommates; I knew her older brother first, but met her after we decided to move off campus and into a condo together.” A condo, together with Iris’ brother? It almost sounded intimate, the way he put it. Iris lived there, too, but that certainly wasn’t stopping anyone. He found the faintest hint of jealousy rising up inside of him; it wasn’t every day that someone so kind and handsome took the time to, you know, _talk_ to him. But that wasn’t right, he thought, he barely knew Ignis! If the guy was already taken he was already taken, there was no two ways about it.

“Might I ask you a question?” Ignis took the chance he saw in Noctis’ contemplative expression. Noctis nodded and Ignis continued, “How did you become so skilled at pole? Even just watching you teach Iris some basics…you move as if gravity is of no consequence.” With that Ignis couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto his face. He felt positively mischievous, acting as if he didn’t know why Noctis was so good at pole.

That was until he watched…something spread over Noct’s face for a split second. Shame? Resignation? He couldn’t be sure.

“I, uh…it’s a really good workout, first off,” A quick cover, but Ignis decided he wouldn’t pry any more. “That’s kinda the same reason Iris is doing it, so it makes me happy to see her excited about learning like I was when I started. But also…” Noctis trailed off. Ignis followed his gaze to the pole beside them, “Performing arts are so competitive, they demand all of your energy and attention, so it’s easy to lose the fun or love of doing them. But I do pole dance for me; when I’m up there I feel like I’m on top of the world. I feel confident and powerful and sexy and it’s…it’s unlike anything else, you know?”

Ignis stared at Noct, his mouth dropped open a sliver like he was catching flies. He did know. He knew what it felt like, to get away from all the people that brought you down or said you couldn’t. To leave behind all your inhibitions and bare yourself for all to see, and to discover that in itself was the most freeing experience of all.

And Ignis, just sitting there, knew full well that he could get up, walk away and never speak to Noctis again; but he looked at him, really looked at him, in all his cautious honesty and generous kindness…

_Oh, fuck it all._

“I do know the feeling, Noctis. It’s much the same reason that I dance.” Ignis said, and felt his heart swell when the light reached Noctis’ eyes. “But I…wanted to ask you something else,” he said, after basking in the moment, “Would you like to go out for coffee some time?” Already he felt infinitely better, just getting it off his chest, “I’m sure you keep a busy schedule, but perhaps if you’re free sometime…?”

Noctis couldn’t understand why Ignis looked so worried. Who _wouldn’t_ to go out on a date with Ignis? Noctis himself was over the moon just because he wasn’t being asked out at two in the morning by a drunk guy in his own nightclub. Gods above, he couldn’t even remember the last time.

“I’d love to!” Noctis blurted out, perhaps a bit louder than he meant to. He hoped Iris didn’t hear him, but knowing her she was lurking right outside the door. “Uh, do you want my number? So we can figure out a good time later on.”

“Sure,” Ignis said, a comfortable smile slipping onto his face as he reached for his bag.

Later on, after Ignis offered to drive Iris home, he addressed his roommate’s obvious ploy.

“I can’t believe you did that.” Ignis deadpanned.

“Aw, come on, Iggy! You can’t keep the smile off your face!” She shoved him, and Ignis let himself sway along in the driver’s seat, “I’m happy for you, though. And Noct. He’s a good guy; he could use more friends, at least.”

Ignis hummed, though he couldn’t exactly say he knew the same. Perhaps he would after their little date, if he could be so bold to call it that.

 

* * *

 

They decided to meet at Morrid’s Coffee at 3 P.M. the next day—perfect for Noctis, who had just woken up and needed a strong pick me up to make it through the night, and Ignis, since his classes ended at 2:45 on Thursdays. Meeting so suddenly was nerve racking, Noctis thought, but at least it would be over with soon, so if he really didn’t like the guy he could put the experience past him and melt back into the anonymity of the club.

But seeing the other man walk into the café in a fitted striped button up and suspenders left him hoping their date would turn out much, much better than that. A man that could pole dance _and_ dress himself well; he was after Noctis’ heart for sure. Ignis soon spotted him sitting in one of the booths and made a beeline right for him. Well, at least he wasn’t the only enthusiastic one, Noctis thought.

“Noctis,” Ignis greeted him, his voice airy with the pleasant feeling of seeing him again, “Have you ordered yet?”

“Nah,” he waved his hand in front of his face, “Didn’t want to order without you, so I just figured I’d wait.” Ignis nodded and Noctis stood from his seat, but hesitated for a moment. It felt like there should be something there, a handshake or a hug or some form of greeting, but they weren’t that familiar, yet anyway. Instead, Ignis stepped aside and let Noctis go first to order. They returned with a large coffee for Noctis, slightly sweet, and a white mocha latte for Ignis, plus a small plate of croissants and fruit scones.

“A white mocha? I pegged you as more of a black coffee kind of guy,” Noctis joked, gesturing to the sugary drink Ignis chose. He was sure he would have enjoyed such drinks himself, but his trim figure was almost more important to his job than his dancing skill.

“At home, black coffee is almost all I drink,” Ignis explained, popping off the lid of his cup and admiring the steam wafting up from the foam, “So when I get the chance to enjoy something sweet I’d much rather take my time.” He blew on the foam, watching it brush up against the walls of the cup as the drink cooled. “Now, I didn’t keep you waiting here too long, did I?”

“No, not at all. I keep a pretty odd sleeping schedule, so this is like breakfast to me,” Noctis said, picking up one of the croissants and pulling it apart.

“Oh?” Ignis asked, “What keeps you up so late?”

“Well, usually video games if I’m not working, but the docks are always nice and quiet at night, so I’ll go out there in the evenings and come back on the last train if I have fresh bait.” He sipped his own coffee. He’d long grown out of recoiling at the bitterness, but he still didn’t exactly enjoy it. If it drew him out the fog of sleep and exhaustion, though, he would soldier on.

“Fresh bait?” Ignis asked, breaking a piece off a raspberry scone, “You fish?”

Just like during their conversation at the pole studio, Noctis’ eyes brightened at the chance to explain. “Yeah! It’s a habit I just kinda picked up as a kid. I don’t really…do much with it, I guess?” He scratched his head, looking for the right words, “Like, I don’t cook them or keep them, usually just let ‘em go. I’d like to get pictures sometimes, but my phone doesn’t take very good pictures at night, and it’s all I’ve got.”

Ignis hummed in understanding, sipping at his drink. Fresh fish wasn’t exactly easy to come by in this part of the city, unless one wanted to pay a fortune for it. “If you did keep one, could you transport it back home?”

“Like in a cooler? I mean I could, but it might be a bit of a hassle on a train. Not that I haven’t seen _weirder_ things in the middle of the night, but…”

“Ah, of course, I hadn’t considered…Sorry, it was rude of me to assume. It’s just that I like to cook, and fresh fish is a luxury I don’t get often,” he explained. Noctis’ immediate reaction was to brace his hands against the table, almost dropping his drink in the process, and lean closer to Ignis, his expression a mix of alarm and excitement.

“You cook? I mean, you _like_ cooking?” he asked, and Ignis couldn’t help but chuckle. Apparently Noctis didn’t see cooking as something capable of enjoying.

“I do. If you bring me a good fish I’m sure I can whip something up,” Noctis sat back in his seat, already calculating what he’d need to do to get a fish all the way from the docks to Ignis’ condo. “Do you really dislike cooking that much?”

“Huh?” Ignis’ question startled him out of daydreaming about grilled salmon and fried fish sandwiches, “Well, uh, pretty much. I only learned how to cook ‘cause I live on my own, and I have to eat healthy most of the time so I don’t gain any weight or anything. But I’m not the best cook, so I don’t think I could skin and gut a whole fish and end up with something edible. It’s more like a chore to me; I’d rather eat good food than make it.”

“Well, lucky for you I like to make good food,” Ignis said with a playful smile, “Perhaps it’s a match made in heaven, then?”

Noctis just laughed—a sound Ignis swore came from the angels themselves, he made a mental note to make that happen more often—and diverted the conversation back to Ignis. “So you cook. Do you work as a chef somewhere?”

“I work in a restaurant, but not as a chef. I’m a server part time while I work on my graduate degree at the university.” He put an elbow up on the table, propping his cheek against his fist with a dreamy look in his eyes, “What I wouldn’t give to have a chef position there, though. My parents want me to work in government, which is what I’m studying at the moment, but if it were up to me…well, I don’t think I’d work another day in my life.”

Noctis responded with a warm smile. “Yeah, I get that.”

“What’s your dream job, then?”

“To be a backup dancer for pop artists and singers, dancing in stage shows or music videos,” he said, fidgeting around in his seat. His heart sped up at just the mention of the fanciful idea. “One of Cosmogony’s instructors is a choreographer for those kinds of things, but it’s a very competitive industry. You have to get a good agent and be on your best game all the time to get jobs and succeed.”

“I don’t know if it means much to you, but I think you would have a good shot if you tried.” Ignis offered, and the shy smile that Noctis tried to hide behind his coffee did not escape his gaze. “Are you in school for dance, then? And you mentioned you worked at night, didn’t you?”

The trepidation in his tense shoulders was obvious. “No, I uh, I don’t go to school for dance. I did in high school, actually, but after that I just kept to the studio. College was just…way too expensive. I have a friend who does both, but her parents help her out a lot. I just don’t make enough to do both.” The friendly smile faded from Ignis’ face. He didn’t mean to touch on such a sensitive subject. Just as he prepared to change the subject, though, Noctis beat him to it.

“Can I…Can I tell you something? Because—I’m sorry—I just can’t keep going with this until I get this off my chest.” Noctis looked positively distraught, one hand holding his forehead and the other clenched in a fist on the table. Ignis nodded, keeping eye contact so Noct knew he had his full attention.

“So I mentioned I worked at night,” he said, echoing Ignis’ words, “After I graduated from high school all I knew was that I loved dance and that I didn’t have many great options for college or a good paying job. I worked in retail, but that didn’t pay enough. I was pretty much at a dead end, until I went out to a club one night for a friend’s birthday. I saw the gogo dancers there, saw them making all those tips, and I knew _that_ was something I could do, no problem.” This was it, then. Ignis knew exactly where he was going with this.

“I asked the bartender how I could get up there, and he referred me to a manager who set up a time I could come audition. I felt so lost, but they really liked me and asked if I would be willing to learn pole. I said yes, of course, ‘cause I just wanted the money, but you asked the other day, how I got so good? I was in there practicing with their best dancers every day before the club opened. It took me a while to actually start doing pole at night on the job, but my customers loved it. The better I got, the higher my tips were, and I ended up making way too much money for an eighteen year old.” He shook his head, thinking of all the frivolous things he’d bought at the time.

He shook the thoughts away, looking back to Ignis. “Sorry, I was trying to make a point there. It’s just…like I said, I dance for money. Five or six nights a week I’m gone all night, dancing around in my underwear at a club. I don’t touch anyone or…do anyone favors for tips or anything, but it’s just something you have to know. A lot of the guys I’ve seen…” he trailed off, the next words making his heart ache. “Most of the guys I’ve been out with usually don’t want to see me anymore, after they find out.”

Ignis frowned at that, his brows knitting together. Really, Noctis had endured so much judgment and scorn over a profession? He’d never understand it, but was determined to show him otherwise.

“That’s…that’s okay, Noct—may I call you Noct?” Relief began to wash over Noctis’ features and he nodded, eager to hear his nickname on Ignis’ tongue, “It doesn’t bother me that you work as a gogo dancer; it’s your job, but it doesn’t define you. I asked you to come here today so we could get to know each other better, and we certainly have. I’ve learned you’re kind and bright and extremely talented, and that’s exactly what attracted me to you in the first place.” Ignis braced himself, hoping he wasn’t being too bold, and placed his hand over Noctis’ on the table. “So please don’t feel scared to tell me anything. I would never judge you more than you would I.”

If Noct was being totally honest with himself, he could have leaned across the table and kissed Ignis right then and there. He didn’t know what he had done to be so lucky over the past few days, but he sure was thankful for it now. “T-thank you so much, like…you don’t have any idea how happy that makes me.” He sighed, feeling a weight lift off his chest. “Sorry for all the heavy stuff, by the way. It’s probably not what you wanted to hear on a first date.”

“Oh, this _is_ a date, then?” Ignis played coy, resting his chin in his hand, “Could I be so bold as to ask you on a second one? Something more personal…a nice, candlelit dinner, perhaps?”

Noctis let go of Ignis’ hand and tried to hide the full-face blush that was taking over his cheeks. “I-I just…well, I mean, if you really wanted to…”

“Noct, it would be my pleasure,” he reassured, taking out his phone to check what days he had off in the coming weeks. “Is there a day that’s good for you? Or night, as it were.”

“Yeah! I have Mondays and Thursdays off pretty much every week, if that works,” he said, recomposing himself. He hoped Ignis could recommend a place for dinner—he wasn’t exactly a regular at fine dining establishments, but it sounded like Ignis would know somewhere they could go.

“Next Thursday night, then? I could do that.” Noctis nodded in agreement, already excited to spend more time with the other man. If his night went as usual, though, after their date he’d go back home and stay up all night. And Ignis didn’t seem like the kind of person who would invite him back to his condo so early on…

“Oh!” Noct exclaimed, “Do you want to come fish with me after dinner that night? I usually fish at night, and if you were there you could pick a fish to take back home…”

“You’re asking me to cook for you after our date?” he teased, but was overjoyed that Noctis really wanted to try his cooking. “I’d love to, though. I’ve never actually been fishing; maybe I could try a little.”

“Aw, it’s not hard at all, you’ll be a natural,” He said with a wave of his hand. “What kind of fish do you usually cook with?” Noctis welcomed the long explanation Ignis descended into, regaling him with recipes of teriyaki salmon, battered barramundi and a paella that one could make with any kind of seafood. He continued, contrasting the texture and taste of steamed versus grilled trevally, and Noctis could have listened to him talk about fish all day, truly.

A kind, accepting fellow pole dancer with a love for cooking? Noctis couldn’t have dreamed up a better guy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was the first time I've ever written a date scene, so let me know how you think it went! Noctis and Ignis got along a lot better than I thought they would.


	4. Moonlight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ignis and Noctis go on that second date, and get to know each other better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The restaurant Eorzea is named after SE’s Final Fantasy Café of the same name, Eorzea being the setting of FFXIV.  
> Lots of dialogue in the chapter, hope it doesnt turn out too boring. 
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> [Into You Character Sheet](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/post/159117538779/into-you-ffxv-dance-au-character-sheet)

“Studying for your final now?” Gladio asked, peeking over Prompto’s shoulder one Sunday afternoon as he settled down on the couch with a protein shake and his laptop.

“Yeah. My midterm went okay, so as long as I study like I did for that I think I should be fine.” He explained, his gaze not leaving the pages in front of him. Hopefully this class would be one of the last that graded him based on paper tests. From what he could tell, the upper classes in the photography major were graded more on actual photography and photo projects, rather than midterms and finals. “What’re you workin’ on?”

“Term paper,” Gladio tapped in his password and took another sip of his shake, “Doing the research was pretty cool. I spent a few weeks assessing the health and physical abilities of the uni’s baseball team, but looking through all my notes and records and trying to crank thirty pages out of it…not so much.”

Prompto made a noise of disgust and stuck out his tongue, “I’m never doing a graduate degree, I swear.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling,” he muttered into his shake, but was then interrupted by their front door opening.

“Iggy! How was the shift from hell?” Prompto greeted him. Ignis was still dressed sharp in his work uniform, but his dress shirt had come untucked and his red apron was not looking so crisp and ironed any more.

“Brunch was, well…it was brunch, which is to say everyone was far too demanding and no one tipped well,” he said, hooking his keys on the wall and emptying his apron pockets on the kitchen counter. After procuring his serving book, a few spare coins and far too many straws, he untied the apron and chucked it into the wash right away. “And how have you lot been?”

“Just studyin’…” Prompto groaned, resting his chin on the table, and Gladio’s expression told him all he needed to know. Ignis chuckled as he unbuttoned his dress shirt, leaving him in just a ribbed tank, and tossed it in the wash as well.

“Man, life’s been so boring lately,” Ignis listened to Gladio gripe as he retrieved his hamper from his bedroom and dumped in the rest of his dirty clothes, “We should go do something fun this weekend.”

“It’s only been a week since we went to Iris dance studio and you’ve gotten bored that quickly?” Ignis teased.

Gladio huffed. “Well, I mean that was pretty cool, seeing all her friends and stuff, but it’s not like I’m going to go back there all the time,” he said, and Ignis had to remind himself that he hadn’t told them about his meeting with Noctis, much less the coffee date they went on. He hoped their friendship—or perhaps more—wouldn’t spark jealousy between him and his roommates. He’d wanted to tell them soon, because he’d love to invite Noctis over to meet them sometime.

“Wait, that’s it!” Gladio exclaimed, snapping his fingers, “We should go back to _The Citadel_ this weekend, yeah? We haven’t been since the first time we took Prom, and that place is always a good time.”

“You don’t think it’ll be weird, since all of Iris’ friends work there and stuff?” Prompto asked. Ignis remained silent by the washing machine, apprehensive about returning since Noctis would be working there.

“Nah,” Gladio waved off his worry, “They probably won’t even recognize us, and if they did I don’t think they’d care as long as we’re tipping. Plus,” he set his shake down, letting his eyes drift skyward in daydream, “I’d do anything to get to see that sweet piece of ass on legs again, Eos have mercy.”

Ignis slammed the washer door shut without another word, startling the other boys out of their thoughts. Perhaps this was _not_ the best time to tell them about his meeting with Noctis. Now he wasn’t sure if there ever would be a good time.

“I’d love to, but I’ve got a lot to work on for my finals, too. Lots of reading, you know,” It was a little bit of a fib, but he was trying not to lose his temper over a stupid offhanded comment. “Perhaps after finals week?” He suggested, but retreated into his room without waiting for an answer. If the other two boys were upset or shocked, he didn’t stay around to find out

 

* * *

 

Noctis, for the life of him, didn’t have a clue what to wear.

After asking Ignis where exactly they’d be enjoying dinner together, Ignis had decided on the upscale Galahdian restaurant _Eorzea._ Noctis thought that he wouldn’t recognize the name of whatever restaurant they were going to, but he knew _Eorzea._ It was only a few blocks from _The Citadel_ , so it was easy to tell when patrons of the restaurant wandered down to the club. Well dressed and drunk on expensive wine, they tended to be some of the most generous tippers. He also knew that Nyx took Luna there as a birthday gift, wanting to share the finest cuisine his native Galahd had to offer, and Luna gave the place high praise. The pictures of the two from that night—Luna in a stunning white ruched dress and Nyx in a sharp navy suit—told him all he needed to know about the expected dress code.

Luckily for him, Iris volunteered to help settle his nerves and go clothes shopping with him. They ended up in a menswear store downtown, but Noctis was having trouble picking between all the colors and styles and fits. The amount of options was dizzying, when his usual wardrobe consisted of dance practice clothes, work clothes, t-shirts and a few pairs of jeans.

The store associate suggested a slim fit based on his slim frame and directed him to a rack of grey and navy suits, but Noctis was more focused on the price tag than the color and fit. One hundred fifty _thousand_ gil, just for one date? He knew that was on the lower end for suits and he might get more use out of it someday, but still…

“Noct, what about this one?” Iris tapped him on the shoulder, holding up a black pinstripe suit on a hanger. She leaned in close, gesturing to the price tag. “It was on the sale racks, I guess because it’s from last season or something. But I figured you’d appreciate that,” She said a little quieter. Noctis did appreciate it, and he supposed a suit priced at only eighty thousand gil was worth a try on.

For the price, he was shocked to find out it was a three piece suit in the dressing room. He grabbed a simple black button up and tried it on, then stepped out to show Iris.

“Wow, you look great!” She exclaimed as he admired himself in the mirror. He looked taller, and he liked that, and he did find himself rather fond of the look. He thought the stripes would look gaudy or garish, but the look suited him. “With the jacket on you look super professional, like royalty or something.” She giggled at the thought.

“Maybe the jacket is too much? Just for the date, I mean,” Noct slipped off the jacket then went back to the mirror again. The skulls on the back of the vest were a _little_ much, and definitely not a look for everyone, but he honestly thought they looked pretty cool.

“That’s it!” Iris snapped her fingers as Noctis turned in the mirror, admiring how the vest hugged his waist. She stepped up next to him, looping her elbow through his, “Now just imagine it’s nighttime, beautiful ambiance, a nice guy on your arm…” She descended into giggles when Noctis blushed, but he indulged her and took out his phone, snapping a few mirror shots of the two posing together before he took the suit off and headed to the register. An associate helped him find a matching striped cravat and he was all set.

Now, to conquer the actual date night.

 

* * *

 

Dinner didn’t go half as bad as Noctis thought it would. It went _wonderful,_ actually. He’d nearly worried himself sick with nerves beforehand, but when he met Ignis outside the _Eorzea_ ’s lavish patio his nerves drained away.

“You look stunning,” Ignis complimented him, squeezing his hand for a moment, and the admiration in his eyes set Noctis’ heart so aflutter he could barely find words. He thought Ignis looked great, too, in his slim and skinny heather grey suit, but his brain refused to form sentences until after they were seated.  

The food was wonderful—wonderfully spicy, in Noctis’ opinion. Ignis was able to recommend several dishes as he’d been there before, and after the food was delivered they sampled off each other’s plates reveling in the unique blend of spices in each dish that cuisine from Galahad was known for. Ignis tried—moreso than last time—to keep the conversation light, telling Noctis that he should come meet his roommate, Prompto, as he was always looking for someone to binge on video games with. Their conversation wandered from roommates to dance to pole, Noctis asking if Ignis had managed to nail those moves yet.

“I could help you, y’know, if you want,” Noct offered, and hoped Ignis wouldn’t be averse to taking instruction from someone younger than him. “I’m sure I could find some new stuff to teach you, too.”

“Sure, I’d love the help,” Ignis replied. It sounded fun; something else they could do together, “I’m a member of that studio we met at, so I believe I can get you in for some studio space at a discounted rate.” Noctis agreed and said they should figure out a time, but after that the two fell into silence. Not that it was a terrible thing—the food was plenty good enough to enjoy without a word—but Ignis searched his mind for another topic to bring up. He considered bringing up Gladio, but couldn’t think of any trait that he and Noct had in common. What a pity, he thought.

It was Noctis that broke the silence, and with the last thing Ignis would ever think of him saying. “Ignis, do you want to come see me dance?”

Ignis was a composed man, and did not nearly drop his fork in shock. “You mean, dance at the club?”

“Yeah, I think you’d like it! I do some pretty cool tricks in some of my choreographed shows.”

  “A-are you sure you wouldn’t mind? You don’t think it’s odd?” It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Noctis dance (again), but he didn’t want the other boy to think he was only after his looks.

  “No, like, it would be cool. I’m coming up with this new routine that…” Noct spiraled into a long explanation of pole moves and transitions that Ignis felt proud to be able to follow. Noct didn’t want Ignis to come watch him get nearly naked on stage, he realized, he wanted someone who actually appreciated the skill that pole took to watch him and tell him what they thought. It was…quite cute, actually. Noct could hardly contain his excitement.

“Well, if you really want me to, I don’t mind. Sounds like fun.”

“Yeah, it will be,” Noct said with a smile, “Bring some friends, too, cause I won’t really be able to talk to you unless I come up and dance near you. And I’ve gotta work for those tips, of course.” He winked, playful, but then grew a little more serious. “I also…can’t look like I have….you know, a boyfriend. Part of the image and all.” He kept his eyes focused on his plate, trying to act demure while he stole glances at Ignis and waited for his reaction.

Ignis was frozen for a few seconds, his mouth fallen open a bit in shock, but a smile soon bloomed on his face. It was comforting, knowing Noctis felt just as shy and hesitant about the whole ordeal, but still wanted to pursue a relationship. Mirroring their first date, he slid a hand across the table and covered Noctis’ hand with his.

“Don’t worry, then,” he said, “It can be our little secret.”

 

* * *

 

Ignis drove the both of them back to Noctis’ apartment where they changed into jeans and t-shirts before gathering up Noctis’ fishing gear and departing again. After loading a fishing pole, tackle box, a cooler and a folding camping chair into Ignis’ black sedan they were off.

The address Noctis told him to type into his phone was way out on the east edge of the city, so they drove across miles and miles of Insomnia’s cyclical highway system before reaching an exit for a smaller road. It was still quite a drive from there, through winding rural roads that eventually ended at a small beach. They were right on the edge of the walls, Ignis realized; the small man-made beach was supplied with water through a hole in the outer walls, causing the ocean to flow right in. Off to the right side of the beach was a wooden dock, their ultimate destination.

“Peaceful, isn’t it?” Noctis asked as they unloaded the car. Ignis took a moment to take in their surrounding area. The only light around came from the moon, two dim lampposts in the parking lot, plus a few low lamps that lit the path leading down to the beach. If one listened closely, they could hear the noise pollution from the southeastern industrial district or from the distant trains, but other than that, nothing.

“It is. I don’t think I’ve ever been this far out from the city center.” Ignis said as they made their way down the little wooden path. Once on the beach, their pace was slowed by their shoes sinking into the sand.

“I’d like to live out here someday, somewhere far away from downtown in a big mansion that I can keep all to myself.” Noctis said, gazing up at the stars as they walked.

“All to yourself?” Ignis teased, “Sounds quite lonely.”

“Well...I’m sure I’ll find some company somewhere along the way,” Noctis taunted back.

They set to fishing after that, Noctis showing Ignis what each part of the pole did and how to change lures. He cast out the line a few times, demonstrating how to bait the fish into biting, then to turn the rod toward it as it yanked and pulled against the hook. After reeling in a few small fish and releasing them back, he offered the rod to Ignis and took a seat.  

Ignis, it turned out, was…kind of terrible at fishing. His reaction timing was a little slow and he tended to pull too hard, which ended up in one of Noct’s lures going missing. He apologized in every way he knew how, holding the end of the frayed, snapped fishing line, but Noctis just laughed it off.

“Don’t worry, I lose ‘em every once in a while, too. That one was pretty cheap, so it’s no big deal.” Ignis offered to replace it for him anyway, and handed the pole back to Noctis. “All fishing really takes is patience, which I don’t have much of normally. But a good fish? I can be patient for a good fish.”

A few hours later found Noctis seated again, playing the waiting game as he let the lure idle in the dark water. Ignis was seated on the dock next to him, head pillowed against Noctis’ side. It was nearly 3am—way past his normal bedtime.

“Don’t fall asleep on me, Iggy, you’ve still got to drive us back into town.” Noctis said, and the new nickname caught Ignis’ interest enough to stir him.

He hummed in understanding, rubbing at his eyes. If he couldn’t fall asleep he needed some topic of conversation to keep himself awake. He had one idea, but he wasn’t sure if he should be so bold, after only knowing Noctis for a little over a week.

“Noct?” he mumbled, intent on asking anyway. _To hell with it_ , he thought. It was three in the morning and his inhibitions would never be this low again unless he got very drunk, and this topic was better discussed sober. “Do you mind if I ask you something…rather personal?”

“Nah, go ahead,” he replied, reeling in the line a bit. “Hit me.”

“What happened to your parents?” He asked, voice still quiet and heavy with sleep, “Why don’t you live with them anymore?”

Noctis, to his credit, only stiffened in shock a little, then let out a long breath. “You don’t mind a long story?”

“Not at all.”

“Alright then,” he said, shifting around in the chair and checking his grip on the pole, “I guess I should just start at the beginning.”

“I lived with both my mom and dad until I was eight,” he began, and Ignis looked up at him as he spoke, “I was an only child, so life was a little lonely, but I was also a little spoiled. My parents really loved me and, since we were rather well off, I got pretty much anything I wanted. It was my mom that got me into fishing, too,” he said, his voice filled with fondness, “She was from outside the city, from somewhere in the back country. She used to tell me that her parents would make her and her siblings fish for their dinners.”

“But anyway, when I was eight we went on a vacation out to Cape Caem. We rented a nice beach house, fished a lot, ate good food. It was fun.” He was trying to keep his tone light, but Ignis could tell he was leading up to something more serious, “On the way back, we get into a really… a really bad car crash. My parents were both killed, but I didn’t know that until I woke up in a hospital in Insomnia a month later. If you didn’t already guess, that was when things started to go south.”  

“I broke a lot of bones and had to be in a wheelchair for a while. The good thing was my parents had a lot of money saved away, so I was never in debt from anything. But after paying for the ambulance that took me to the hospital, a long hospital stay, tons of physical therapy after the fact, funeral costs, and other things associated with me getting better, all the money was pretty much gone and I was on my own.” He paused and took a deep breath, and Ignis placed a hand on his knee in what little comfort he could give.

“The bright spot in this, though, was that I met Luna when I was in the hospital. You remember her from the studio? The ballet teacher and her brother?” Ignis nodded in affirmation. “Yeah, so, her brother Ravus lost his arm in an accident when they still lived in Tenebrae. The two of them and their mother moved to Insomnia seeking better treatment, and Ravus was in the hospital then to get fitted for a prosthetic. We were all in the children’s area of the hospital, and we ended up meeting in the little play area they had. Luna and I really hit it off, so when Ravus was in surgery, she would come to my room so we could talk. Her brother was really devastated about his arm—I mean, _obviously_ —because they were both dancers. Ravus thought he couldn’t continue dancing with a prosthetic, but Luna believed in him.”

“So anyway, Luna talked a lot about ballet, and one day she convinced me to start learning ballet after I could walk again,” Noctis continued on, finally smiling at the memory, “And I did! It took a long time and I was kind of bad at it, but Luna gave me lessons whenever she could. Ravus kept dancing, too, and eventually they got too busy with their own dance training and stuff to teach me, so I ended up switching to modern and learning from a studio.”

“Where did you live after you got out of the hospital?” Ignis asked.

“Oh, right,” he said, realizing the part he’d skipped over, “I was kind of…adopted, I guess? By this older guy named Jered and his daughter, Monica. Jered had just lost his wife and Monica lost her husband, so they were kind of looking for someone to complete their family. Jered used to work with my dad, too, so he knew me, though I didn’t remember him.” Noctis reeled in the line, tired of waiting, and cast it further out into the water. “A few years later Monica had a baby, Talcott, so he became my little brother. You might have seen him at Cosmogony, too; he started dancing there after he saw me many years later, cause he wanted to copy his big brother.” Again, a smile.  

“So, I spent the rest of my childhood and teenage years with them. They helped me pay for all the costs of dancing—paying the studio and driving me all around, buying clothes and shoes and all that—but when I was old enough I worked to help pay for it, too. I was even lucky enough to get accepted into a special performing arts high school, so that was cool, but like I told you before, after I graduated I stopped going to school.” He felt a few nibbles on the line and flicked the lure around, but nothing seemed to bite.

“And I guess that brings us up to what I told you when we got coffee. When I first started gogo dancing I still lived with them, but it just wasn’t feasible after a while. Talcott was only six—he didn’t need to see his older brother coming and going at all times of the night. So after a few weeks I had a good chunk of gil saved up and I moved out,” Noctis concluded, “And that brings us up to present day.”  

Ignis hummed, taking a minute to think everything over. He was glad that, despite the car accident, Noctis’ childhood seemed to have quite a few bright spots. “You’re very brave,” he said, but hoped it wouldn’t come off too condescending. He didn’t miss the corner of Noct’s mouth twisting or the slight hesitation.

 “Thanks.” Noct said, and they sat in silence for a few more minutes. Ignis didn’t want to say anything, but it was nearing three thirty now. He hoped Noct would give up the ghost on catching a big fish soon.

As if by magic, the line started bobbing. Noctis’ hand grabbed on to the rod like he’d been waiting for it his whole life and stood up out of the chair, already beginning to reel in when he could.

“Whoa, it’s heavy!” He exclaimed as Ignis began to stand, “Told ya’ all we had to do was be patient, Iggy. Whatever this is, you’ll have it cooked up by this time tomorrow!” He said with a laugh as he continued to battle the fish.

It didn’t take long for Noct to put the fish on it’s last legs—er, fins. When prompted Ignis helped him pull it up out of the water, and the allural sea bass was theirs for the keeping. In truth it wasn’t _all_ that big, which was fine, because Ignis didn’t think he could handle filleting something more than two feet long, but Noctis was proud of it, so that was all that mattered.

The drive back to the apartment was quiet—and Noct passed out within five minutes of getting in the car, the cheater—so Ignis tuned into some classical radio station to keep himself awake. He almost couldn’t believe where he was, driving his date back to his own apartment at almost four in the morning after being out all night fishing just so _he_ could cook the two of them a meal. Wasn’t there a saying, about something making you do crazy things? His sleep-deprived, yet endorphin high mind couldn’t remember. He was _never_ going to stay up until four in the morning again.   

He took Noctis’ hand and gently woke him just before they arrived at his apartment. After a promise to take care of the fish in the morning, Ignis convinced Noct that his bed was indeed more comfortable than the car door. It took both of them to haul the heavy cooler full of ice out of the trunk, but luckily it was on wheels, so Noctis held the handle while Ignis fumbled with the keys and tried to make their entrance as quiet as possible. Just as Ignis finally got the key to turn in the lock, Noctis stopped him with a hand on his wrist.

“Hmm?” He couldn’t imagine what would make Noctis put more obstacles between himself and a bed. Noctis wiggled his finger towards himself, indicating for Ignis to lean down lower. In his sleep-deprived state, he didn’t realize what Noctis was implying until he felt a hand turning his cheek.

Their lips met in a short, simple kiss. After they pulled away he could taste the remnants of the ocean salt that lingered on both of their lips. Ignis stood, frozen for a second, before Noctis helped him turn his hand and let them into the condo. Noctis didn’t acknowledge the kiss again as they washed their hands and faces and changed into sleep clothes. Ignis didn’t push it, either, as they both slipped into Ignis’ large bed. There was certainly enough space for the both of them, Ignis rationalized, so it was of Noctis’ own volition that he shifted a bit closer, holding Ignis’ hand in sleep.

 

* * *

 

Just as they’d planned, Ignis and Noctis woke long after Ignis’ other three roommates had left the condo. Prompto and Iris were both at school and Gladio at work, so they were left with the house all to themselves.

Which was for the best, really, not so they could have privacy, but so Ignis could skin and fillet the fish without Prompto or Iris around to freak out.

“I’ll have to spray some air freshener or something before they get home; it smells terrible in here,” Ignis said while Noctis watched from the other side of the counter.

“Well, it’ll smell good when you start cooking right? With the spices and all?” Noctis asked, nursing a cup of coffee. Ignis shot him a sidelong glance.

“Flatterer.”

They remained that way for most of the day, Ignis cooking while Noct picked at snacks and asked him questions about the dish. He looked a little put off by the vegetables Ignis pulled out, but never voiced his dissatisfaction.

For Ignis, the best part of the day was no doubt when Prompto and Gladio came home from the university. Watching the shock, surprise and confusion blossom over their faces was worth every unkind word they’d said about Noctis, even if it wasn’t that many in the first place. Iris, on the other hand, greeted Noctis with a big hug and a knowing smile on her face.

Noctis returned quite a few times over the next few weeks. Prompto eventually warmed up to him after the offer of a video game partner, and Gladio didn’t seem to mind his presence. Since Prompto and Gladio didn’t know about their dates, Ignis supposed that having Noctis over just looked like ‘Ignis and Noctis hang out and cook together’ or ‘Noctis is bored on his day off and wants friends to hang out with’, and Ignis was quite fine with things staying like that.

That was until an ill-planned late night study session left him exhausted the next day, and he fell asleep on Noctis’ lap on the living room couch without a care. Noctis, unable to get up, didn’t bat an eye when Gladio and Prompto came home and had to pick their jaws up off the floor.

“Ssshhh,” he said, a finger against his lips and a hand in Ignis’ hair, “He almost never sleeps like this.” The two nodded, then clambered up the stairs as quietly as they could, shutting themselves in Gladio’s room.

“I can’t believe this!” Prompto exclaimed, as he threw himself down onto Gladio’s desk chair

“Are you really that surprised?” Gladio asked. “They’ve been hanging out for a while now.”

“Well, yeah!” Prompto said, looking up to his roommate, “But I’m pretty jealous, too. I mean, I really like him! I thought maybe…I’d have at least a little bit of a chance…”

Gladio sighed and plopped down onto his bed.  “Yeah, I see what you mean. I’ve been thinking this over for a while now, but I finally decided that, given the chance, I’d ask him out to dinner or something.” He sighed, rubbing the back of his head, “Guess I missed my chance.”

Prompto froze, forgetting his own pity party for a moment. “Wait, wait wait,” he said, waving his hands in front of himself, “Do you really like Noctis that much? I thought you just thought he was hot?”

A blush spread over the bridge of Gladio’s nose. “W-what? No! I mean, I—you weren’t talking about Ignis? I thought you meant Ignis?”

“Oh,” Prompto’s eyes widened, “OH, oh my gosh, n-no I was talking about Noctis. I mean, not that I don’t _like_ Ignis or anything…” A blush colored his cheeks, too, and he suddenly found the view out the window very interesting.

“So you do like Ignis?”

“Hey, what’s with all the questions?” He scowled, “What about you, big guy? You’ve been living with him for years and you only now want to ask him out?” Prompto shot back.

“How ‘bout you mind your own business and answer my question?” Gladio growled, feeling embarrassment wash over him.

“And what about Noctis? You _were_ the one making all those comments about him.”

“What if I do like him? What if I like ‘em both? What difference does it make to you?”

“Well I’d be glad, cause I’d know I’m not the only one that likes them both, either!” Prompto admitted, crossing his arms in a huff. After a moment of contemplation they both deflated and looked each other in the eye. There was no reason to fight over this; they were at an impasse.

Gladio sighed, massaging his eyes with a hand, “Well we’re both pieces of work, aren’t we?”

 

* * *

 

Later that evening, after Ignis woke up and Noctis left for work, it was Prompto that finally broke the silence.

“I can’t take it anymore Iggy!” He shouted from the armchair while Ignis dried off his hands from washing the dishes. “How did you do it?”

“Do what? Dinner?”

“No!” Prompto shouted again after Gladio snorted, “How did you get a guy like Noct to like you? He’s just so, like…pretty! And cool!”

Ignis held a hand over his heart in mock offense, “Prompto, are you saying _I’m_ not pretty and cool?”

“Ignis!” He whined, arching back over the arm of the chair, his hair dangling at wild angles toward the ground.

“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you; I approached him in a respectful manner and invited him out to get coffee. I treated him like a person and not—oh, let me channel my inner Gladio for this—like a piece of arse on legs at the club.”

Prompto’s mouth dropped wide open in his upside down hang and Gladio whipped around from the couch so quickly Ignis was worried he’d got whiplash, “You didn’t tell him about that, did you?” He asked, sheer panic painting his expression.

“Certainly not,” Ignis said, and Gladio exhaled, “Though if you ever want a chance at getting in his bed then I suggest you rethink your opinion of him.”

“Ignis,” Gladio started, appalled that his friend would suggest such a thing, “I would never—”

“I have confidence that if he and I weren’t already seeing each other you certainly _would_ , not that I blame you. But not to worry, I haven’t got anything to worry about. Noct is very trustworthy.” He said and retreated to his room, leaving the two boys to their own thoughts in the living room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: We finally get to some smut! So the rating will be going up, probs.

**Author's Note:**

> ON HIATUS: Unfortunately, life is busy right now and I don't have time to write. This story is on hiatus until further notice, though I will come back to it. Just might take while. 
> 
>  If anyone is so inspired to draw any of the scenes from this fic I would be forever grateful! :)
> 
> [Into You Character Sheet](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/post/159117538779/into-you-ffxv-dance-au-character-sheet)
> 
>  
> 
> [my tumblr](http://ferix-writes.tumblr.com/)


End file.
